Petunia plant named &#39;petspebl&#39;

ABSTRACT

A new and distinct cultivar of  Petunia  plant named ‘Petspebl’ characterized by its trailing, outwardly spreading and mounded plant habit, freely branching habit, freely flowering habit, single flowers that have several shades of blue color in the flower with a light throat with dark venation, and good garden performance.

LATIN NAME OF THE GENUS AND SPECIES OF THE PLANT CLAIMED

Petunia hybrida

VARIETAL DENOMINATION

‘Petspebl’

BACKGROUND OF THE NEW PLANT

The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Petunia plant botanically known as Petunia hybrida and referred to by the cultivar name ‘Petspebl.’

The new Petunia is the product of a planned breeding program conducted by the inventor in Enkhuizen, Netherlands. The new Petunia cultivar is freely flowering with trailing and spreading habit and attractive leaf and flower coloration.

The new Petunia is the F6 of a proprietary selection of Petunia hybrida identified as code number ‘A 5015-1,’ not patented. The new Petunia was selected as a single plant from the resulting progeny of the cross-pollination which took place in June 1999 in a controlled environment in Cambridge, United Kingdom.

Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar by terminal vegetative cuttings since May 2000, in Enkhuizen, Netherlands has shown that the unique features of this new Petunia are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Plants of the cultivar ‘Petspebl’ have not been observed under all possible environmental conditions. The phenotype may vary somewhat with variations in environment such as temperature, light intensity and daylength without, however, any variance in genotype.

The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined to be the unique characteristics of ‘Petspebl.’ These characteristics in combination distinguish ‘Petspebl’ as a new and distinct cultivar:

-   -   1. Trailing, outwardly spreading and mounded plant habit     -   2. Freely branching habit     -   3. Freely flowering habit     -   4. Single flowers that have several shades of blue color in the         flower with a light throat with dark venation     -   5. Good garden performance

Plants of the new Petunia ‘Petspebl’ differed from the plants of the Petunia cultivar Surfina blue (‘Sunblu’), not patented, in size and shape of the flowers. The flowers of the new Petunia are smaller than the flowers of Surfina blue and the petals of the new Petunia are more round whereas the petals of Surfina blue are more pointed.

Plants of the new Petunia differ from the Petunia cultivar Petitunia Blue Dream (‘Danpetbl’), not patented, in the color pattern of the flowers. The flowers of the new cultivar have several shades of blue and a light throat with a dark venation whereas the flowers of Petitunia Blue Dream are a plain blue.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

The accompanying colored photograph illustrates the overall appearance of the new cultivar, showing the colors as true as it is reasonably possible to obtain in colored reproductions of this type. Colors in the photograph may differ slightly from the color values cited in the detailed botanical description which accurately describe the colors of the new Petunia.

DESCRIPTION OF THE NEW CULTIVAR

The observations and measurements describe plants grown in Enkhuizen, The Netherlands, practice circumstances outdoor in windowboxes during the summer with day temperatures ranging from 18 to 25° C. and night temperatures ranging from 10 to 14° C. Plants used for the photographs and description were about 12 weeks from planting rooted cuttings.

In the following description, color references are made to The Royal Horticultural Society Colour Chart, 1995 Edition, except where general terms of ordinary dictionary significance are used.

-   The plant: -   Classification — Botanical: Petunia hybrida -   Propagation: -   Type cutting: Terminal vegetative cuttings -   Time to initiate roots:     -   -   Summer and winter.—About 12 days at 20° C. -   Time to develop roots, summer r.: About 21 days at 20° C. -   Time to develop roots, Winter: About 28 days at 16° C. -   Root description: Fine, fibrous, white in color -   Rooting habit: Freely branching -   Plant description: -   Form: Annual flowering plant; indeterminate; initially upright then     trailing and outwardly spreading; uniformly mounded plant form.     Freely branching habit; about five basal branches each with about     five to seven lateral branches. Pinching enhances development of     lateral branches. -   Usage: Appropriate for hanging baskets, window boxes, patio     containers and landscape applications -   Plant height.—About 25 cm -   Plant diameter (area of spread): About 45 cm -   Vigor: Vigorous; rapid growth rate -   Lateral branches:     -   -   Length.—About 45 cm.         -   Diameter.—About 4 mm.         -   Internode length.—About 3-4 cm.         -   Texture.—Pubescent.         -   Color.—144A. -   Foliage description:     -   -   Arrangement.—Alternate before flowering; opposite after             flowers develop; simple.         -   Length.—About 3.5 cm.         -   Width.—About 3 cm.         -   Shape.—Orbicular.         -   Apex.—Rounded.         -   Base.—Attenuate.         -   Margin.—Entire.         -   Texture, upper and lower surfaces.—Sparsely pubescent;             glandular.         -   Venation pattern.—Reticulate. -   Color:     -   -   Developing and fully expanded leaves, upper surface.—146A.         -   Developing and fully expanded leaves, lower surface.—146B.         -   Venation, upper surface.—146C.         -   Venation, lower surface.—146C.         -   Petiole length.—About 5 mm.         -   Petiole diameter.—About 2.5 mm.         -   Petiole color, upper and lower surfaces.—145C.         -   Petiole texture.—Sparsely pubescent. -   Flower description: -   Flower type and habit: Single salverform flowers, flowers face     mostly upward and outward, axillary. Freely flowering habit, about     two to three open flowers and about three flower buds per lateral     branch at a time. -   Natural flowering season: Long day responsive, long flowering     period, spring until frost in the autumn, flowering continuous     during this period. Plants start flowering about eight weeks after     planting rooted cuttings. Flowers persistent. -   Flower longevity on the plant: About seven to ten days -   Fragrance: Faint, sweet -   Flower size:     -   -   Diameter.—About 5 cm.         -   Tube length.—About 3.5 cm.         -   Throat diameter, distal end.—About 1.3 cm.         -   Tube diameter, proximal end.—About 3 mm. -   Flower buds:     -   -   Length.—About 3 cm.         -   Diameter.—About 7 mm.         -   Shape.—Elongated oblong with ruffled apices.         -   Color.—More grey than 85B with N92A veins. -   Petals:     -   -   Quantity/arrangement.—About five petals fused in a single             whorl, funnelform.         -   Length from throat.—About 2-2.5 cm.         -   Width.—About 2.5 cm.         -   Shape.—Roughly fan-shaped.         -   Apex.—Rounded.         -   Margin.—Entire.         -   Texture, upper and lower surfaces.—Smooth, velvety. -   Color:     -   -   When opening, upper surface.—Between N88A and N78A, venation             86A.         -   When opening, lower surface.—86D, venation N92A.         -   Fully opened, upper surface.—N81A with edges until 1 cm into             N87A in the edge of the middle of the petal, venation N92A.         -   Fully opened, lower surface.—86B, venation 146C to 176A at             edge of petal.         -   Flower throat (inside).—157A.         -   Flower throat (outside).—144C.         -   Venation, throat.—N92A.         -   Venation, tube.—146D. -   Sepals:     -   -   Arrangement/appearance—Single whorl of five sepals fused at             base, star-shaped.         -   Length.—About 1.5 cm.         -   Width.—About 2 mm.         -   Shape.—Ligulate.         -   Apex.—Rounded.         -   Margin.—Entire.         -   Texture, upper and lower surfaces.—Pubescent.         -   Color, upper surface.—146A.         -   Color, lower surface.—146B. -   Peduncles:     -   -   Length.—About 2.3 cm.         -   Width.—About 1 mm.         -   Angle.—About 45 to 60° from the stem.         -   Strength.—Strong.         -   Texture.—Pubescent.         -   Color.—144A. -   Reproductive organs:     -   -   Stamens, quantity per flower.—About five.         -   Anther shape.—Ovoid.         -   Anther size.—About 1 mm by 1.5 mm.         -   Anther color.—90A.         -   Pollen amount.—Scarce.         -   Pollen color.—90A.         -   Pistils, quantity per flower.—One.         -   Pistil length.—About 2 cm.         -   Style length.—About 1.7 cm.         -   Style color.—144D.         -   Stigma shape.—Anvil-shaped.         -   Stigma color.—N92A.         -   Ovary color.—145A.         -   Seed/fruit.—Seed and/or fruit production has not been             observed. -   Disease and pest resistance: Plants of the new Petunia have not been     noted to be resistant to pathogens or pests common to Petunia. -   Garden performance: Plants of the new Petunia have been observed to     have good garden performance. Plants of the new Petunia have been     noted to tolerate rain, wind and temperatures from 0 to 30° C. 

1. A new and distinct cultivar of Petunia plant named ‘Petspebl’, as substantially illustrated and described herein. 